NHL

The discussion of removing fighting from the game of hockey comes up every year under ridiculous pretenses. Sometimes it’s because of an injury in a fight. Other times it’s because of a major brawl. Much of the time it’s because Damien Cox is allowed near a computer. This time, it hasn’t been the NHL where the discussion is happening as much as it has at the lower levels of the game. A New York Times article came out this week discussing the issue (indirectly quoting yours truly on page two).

It feels like such a long time ago that the fans of the Montreal Canadiens could feel a genuine and lasting sense of positivity about their beloved club. When the season began many trumpeted that the team was on the cusp of reaching the upper echelons of the National Hockey League. Buoyed by the faulty logic that the team “was just one goal away from knocking off the Bruins” and thus—in Maxwell Smart-esque “missed it by that much” fashion—in a great position to challenge the Bruins for supremacy in the Northeast Division, Canadiens fans entered the More >

On January 6, 2012, In The Game President Dr. Brian Price participated in a chat session with members of SCF. Though the initial impetus for Dr. Price reaching out to SCF to have a discussion was the controversy surrounding the upcoming release of ITG Enforcers (for more information about the product, see the official preview here the chat was a wide-ranging affair that covered many bases and shed some interesting light on a variety of topics relevant to collectors.

On Enforcers

With all the media hubbub created over the product, which features blood-splattered designs More >

If the Montreal Canadians made the headlines for the right reasons during their 2009-2010 playoffs run, they are now making them for all the wrong reasons. An abysmal start to the season, a truckload of injuries, a big money contract given to an ageing and hurting defenseman, a coach firing, in-team fighting and , the final straw, incendiary comments by the team’s top sniper (when things are going well) closely followed by an in-game trade. No no, this is not the scenario of a sporting soap opera but in fact the outline of the season More >

The announcement of Montreal Canadiens’ head coach Jacques Martin being “relieved of his duties” reached me while I was at the monthly Halifax card show. Oddly enough, CTV Halifax news anchor Steve Murphy (himself a collector) was the one that broke the news to the hall, having received the information on his Blackberry – word spread quickly and when it reached me I was relieved and happy. Martin’s philosophy of defence first had become stifling of the Canadiens’ skill and talent, and it was apparent on some game nights that he had lost the confidence of More >